The police have recovered the mutilated body of a woman from an apartment in the Geeta Nagar area of Mira Road on Wednesday evening. Police reached the building on receiving information about foul smell emanating from a seventh-floor apartment and found the body, identified as that of Saraswati Vaidya who was in a live-in relationship with Manoj Sane, according to Deputy SP Jayant Bajbale.
Police suspect Sane to have had a hand in the crime. Prima facie investigations have revealed that the accused had tried to cut the body into pieces, according to the police. The accused has reportedly been taken into custody.
Neighbours called police after stench from couple's home
The suspect had been staying with Vaidya in the rental flat in the Akashganga building in the Mira Road area over the past three years. On Wednesday, Nayanagar police station received a call from residents of the building, complaining about a foul odour emanating from the couple's flat.
"Police have found a body of a woman who had been cut into pieces, from a society in the Mira Road area. Here a couple was living in a live-in relationship. A preliminary investigation revealed that the woman was hacked to death. Further Investigation underway," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Mumbai Jayant Bajbale said.
Chopped her body in over 20 pieces, boiled pieces in Pressure Cooker
According to reports, Sane killed his partner Vaidya over domestic dispute. The news agency ANI quoted that Manoj Shahane had purchased tree-cutter to chop her body and he also boiled her body in a pressure cooker before filling them into plastic bags to dispose it of.
The cops also found over 12-13 pieces of her body from the couple's Mira Road home.
Police suspect he may have fed the body parts to strays
According to another report in Indian Express, prelimnary probe revealed that Saraswati, an orphan, had been living with Shahne since 2014 and that he worked at ration shop. Reportedly, the couple fought often.
Reports stated that residents told the police that the couple did not interact with neighbours or anyone in the building complex. Some residents were quoted in a Times of India report telling the police that Shahane was seen feeding stray dogs in the locality over the past two to three days — something he never did in the past. Police suspect he may have fed some of the body parts to the strays in the vicinity. They are also ascertaining if body parts were flushed down the drain, said the report.
Reportedly, the killing was committed on June 4. Additional Commissioner of MBVV Police told IE that the accused used two cutters, including electric cutter and chopped body in small pieces. He expressed that some pieces were missing and the cops said they suspect he had dumped them off in different areas.
The cutters used by accused have been seized by the cops. A case is being filed against Sane under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code.
Re-Run of Shraddha Walkar murder?
The brutal murder sends chills down one's spine and is very reminiscent of Shraddha Walkar murder which shocked the collective conscience of the entire country. Walkar, who was a resident was Palghar, was killed by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala in Delhi last year. Poonawala had chopped up her body in 35 parts and had stored it in fridge before scattering it across forests in the national capital.
